Some say the deal is historic, others that it is weak. We look closely at the text for the truth of the matter
www.theguardian.com
Transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.
Extraordinary as it might seem, this is the first time the root cause of the climate crisis – fossil fuels – have been cited in a decision text in nearly 30 years of UN climate talks. But “transitioning away” is weaker than “phasing out”. The latter was supported by 130 countries but fiercely opposed by petrostates. In the real world, fossil fuels are actually being phased up, with many new fields being exploited. Is “transitioning away” a strong enough signal to halt these investments? Probably not, but at least the direction of travel is finally clear.
Recognises that transitional fuels can play a role in facilitating the energy transition while ensuring energy security.
This is the biggest win for the fossil fuel industry – it almost amounts to a poison pill in the agreement. It legitimises gas burning on the basis that it is less polluting than coal, though liquefied natural gas (LNG) may actually be even worse than coal due to methane leaks. It is worth noting that the US, the world’s biggest oil and gas producer, is planning a huge LNG expansion. The time for transitional fuels is long past; renewables are cheaper, faster and more secure.
Transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.
I would like to point out some things about the above mentioned paragraph took by the COP28 final agreement because scientific terms have a precise meaning.
Actually in this paragraph the phase-down (reduction of fossil fuels burning) is mentioned twice.
1) At the beginning it says transitioning away from fossil fuels which is the explicit explanation of phase-down.
2) At the end of the paragraph the document gives the recommendation to achieve NET ZERO by 2050. As I said NET ZERO means that not only Renewables are used as much as possible but also that efforts are done to reduce the use of Fossil Fuels. So the phase-down is mentioned again. To this concern I would like to point out that the COP28 document doesn't mention CARBON ZERO meaning same Carbon absorbed same Carbon emitted, but NET ZERO.
The document doesn't mention the term phase-out from fossil fuels, which would have been best thing of course, but we can be happy with this decisions took by COP28.
We are looking for the sentence "phase-out from fossil fuels" at COP29 hopefully.
